Maybe I've found a home
by apergis
Summary: Rukia is a promising college student with a love for martial arts, but her life changes forever when she meets professional fighter and damaged war vet, Ichigo Kurosaki.
1. Attracted

I wrote this in like five minutes...actually just kidding. Not my best writing but I'm a little rusty so don't be too harsh on the reviews, I'm delicate.

I do not own Bleach, though I wish I did because I'd be rich as hell...

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><p>"Hey everyone...welcome to today's class! I'm glad so many of you could make it. Today we'll be doing more self defense and working on a few new kicks that I haven't really gone over yet. But first...I'd like to introduce everyone to Ichigo, a former student of mine that has come back to the dojo after a few years overseas in the military and fighting professionally."<p>

And that was when Rukia first saw him. Ichigo Kurosaki. He stood in front of her martial arts class, hands in his pockets, looking bored and totally uninterested in what was going on. He wore black fighting pants with yellow lines down the sides and a plain black shirt. He had tan skin, and his arms were heavily corded with muscle. The way he was standing, how he carried himself, how he looked carved out of pure muscle...reminded Rukia of the fighters she watched on TV during the major martial arts tournaments. The thing that really caught her eye though, was his hair. It was short, but very unkempt and very spiky. And it was orange. She had never in her life seen orange hair like that before.

"God...he's so hot." Her friend, Rangiku, said quietly from her left.

"I know! Oh the things I would let him do to me..." Momo said from her right, looking dreamily at the newcomer.

Rukia felt her cheeks getting hot. She wasn't going to admit it, but she was thinking the same thing. She looked around at the rest of the class nervously. She would absolutely die of embarassment if everyone knew what she was thinking. She was having difficulty keeping her eyes off of this Ichigo. Not only was he handsome...but the way he just stood there totally aloof, totally uninterested in what was going on...she couldn't help but be attracted to him. Desperately trying to cool off and lose some of the redness in her cheeks, she tried her best to concentrate on what Ukitake-sensei was saying, and not on this hot new stranger.

"Ichigo is here to help me for awhile, so feel free to ask him any questions you might have. He's fought against some of the best fighters in the world, so put his knowledge to good use and better yourselves with it."

And with that the class began. They started with stretching as usual, with Ukitake-sensei leading everyone. Ichigo just lounged in the corner of the dojo against the wall, smoking a cigarette, and looking just as uninterested as before. Rukia had thought there was no smoking allowed in the dojo, but Ukitake-sensei didn't say a word to him about it. After stretching, they went into kicks. Then they sparred for awhile. Rukia fought Momo, Rangiku, and Nemu interchangeably at different times, doing fairly well against all three. She didn't like to brag, but she was easily one of the best female students at the dojo, only surpassed by Tatsuki and maybe Momo if she was having a good day.

After she finished with her sparring, she sat and stretched, watching the men finish up. Ikkaku and Renji were beating the hell out of each other as usual. Ukitake-sensei broke them up what seemed like every ten seconds, giving them tips but mostly telling them to calm down. Toshiro and Izuru fought each other at a brisk pace, occasionally stopping to offer the other some advice. Hanataro and Ganju sat on the mat doing cooldown stretches.

"Man...I fought terrible today. I was too distracted by this sexy new teacher, _Ichigo._ Even his name sounds hot." Rangiku said, making it blantantly obvious she was staring at him.

"Yeah...I'm definitely getting fucked by him in the near future." Momo said

"Cut it out you two! Especially you Momo! At least keep your voice down." Rukia said, looking around to see if anyone heard.

"Oh please Rukia, you have no room to talk...you've been undressing him with your eyes for the last hour. Don't think we haven't noticed, you little pervert." Momo said, causing the sweltering heat to return to Rukia's cheeks.

"I have not! Besides...he...he hasn't even done any teaching, just sat in the corner the whole time...sm...smoking." Rukia replied, stammering in embarassment.

All three fell quiet when they saw Ukitake-sensei was approaching. The men had finished up and were all shaking hands and patting each other on the backs. Ichigo sat and watched, cigarette hanging from his mouth, expression unreadable. Rukia made every effort not to look at him at all, to avoid further teasing from her two friends. All three girls stood up and bowed to their sensei when he reached them, and he returned the gesture before speaking.

"Great job today girls. Tomorrow I'm teaching some new self defense moves so it'd be awesome if you came in. You three are getting better practically every day. Especially you Rukia. Keep it up and you'll get a spot in the next big tournament that's coming to town."

"Thank you sensei, I'd love to fight in a tournament. I've never done it before." Rukia said humbly, a bit embarassed by the praise.

"It's a great opportunity to get your name out there as a fighter, and maybe even win some money if you do well enough. If you're really serious about fighting, events and tournaments are the best way to get better and even get famous, like my former apprentice over there." Sensei said, pointing back over his shoulder to where Ichigo sat in the corner.

Rukia stole a glance at him again as her sensei was pointing, and found that Ichigo was now looking directly at her. Their eyes met for a moment, and it felt like someone poured ice water over her entire body. Her heart started to beat much faster than normal, and she felt her cheeks get hot again. She was so mesmerized by his eyes that she didn't even think about her embarassment. Despite how pretty she thought they were...she couldn't help but feel like something was wrong with the way they looked, but her thoughts were too incoherent to pinpoint what it might be. Her heart was doing somersaults in her chest._ Blue eyes..._

"Hey...earth to Rukia. Quit gawking at him like an idiot, and let's get outta here. I want to go home." Rangiku said, shaking her back to her senses.

"You're completely hopeless Rukia. Seriously...now _I'm _embarassed by _you _for a change. You need to go home and touch yourself or something." Momo said, getting a laugh from Rangiku. Sometimes Rukia couldn't believe how crude her friends were.

"Alright everyone, I'm going home for the day. Gotta get home a bit earlier than usual to go out with my wife and kids. Usually I'd stay and chat longer but duty calls! We'll be closing in a few minutes!" Ukitake-sensei said to the entire gym

One by one, people started filing out of the gym, the usual groups of people leaving together. Rukia and Momo were standing outside the dressing room, waiting for Rangiku to finish changing, when Renji walked up. Renji and Rukia were not only childhood friends, they were living together. Renji had been kicked out of his house a year ago because his parents were sick of him not getting a job or going to college after high school. Also, they had found his stash of pot. Rukia's brother had just moved out to manage his growing business, so Renji had just moved in with her and had been living there ever since.

She had two conditions though. No marijauna, and he had to get a job and start saving money. The second was really none of her business, but she cared about Renji, and didn't want to see him broke because he spent all his money on drugs and alcohol. Her brother, who virtually had a fortune, paid for the apartment every month, despite her ongoing offers to get a job and pay some of it herself. Renji had changed a lot in the year since he had been kicked out. He was working at a convenient store now and had money in the bank. Rukia could swear he still smoked sometimes, though.

"I'm working tonight so I won't be home til late. You need me to pick anything up? Peanut butter, toilet paper, a bong?" Renji asked, chuckling at his own joke.

"Very funny Renji. We're out of milk because you eat so much cereal, so you could get some of that. I've got a lot of homework so I'll probably be up late again."

"Cinnamon Toast Crunch is addicting! And more homework? Told ya you took too many college classes. You're always trying to be an overachiever, Rukia." Renji said, patting her on the head. She smiled and pushed his arm away.

"Better than being an underachiever like yourself. Have fun at work loser."

"Oh I won't, believe me. It's gonna be busy as shit tonight." Renji said, rolling his eyes and waving as he walked off.

"See you when you get off!" Rukia yelled right before the door into the dojo closed behind him.

"Yeah, you guys are practically in love with each other. I wonder if he'd get jealous if he knew you had the hots for orange-top over there." Momo said, looking at Rukia with an amused grin.

"Why is everything always about relationships and controversey with you? I've told you a hundred times, Renji is like a brother. I'd never...date him or anything." Rukia said in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Hm, well...you certainly don't feel that way about _Ichigo. _Too bad he's going to be mine or I'd totally cheer for you if you asked him out. Maybe you can have a threesome with us, if you want. It definitely wouldn't be weird. I mean, it's not like we haven't made-out before right?"

"MOMO! QUIT IT!" Rukia yelled, definitely louder than she intended to. The few people that were left at the dojo turned and stared, their eyes burning rings of embarassment into her flesh.

What Momo said was true though. Rukia still wasn't entirely sure what happened...it was awhile ago, but she had been sleeping over at Momo's house one night, when Momo had suddenly kissed her. One minute Momo was talking about having sex with her new boyfriend, and the next moment their lips were locked and Momo was trying to take Rukia's pants off. What confused Rukia so much even to this day, was that she hadn't made any attempt to stop her. She had _enjoyed _it, especially when the pants came off and one thing led to another...

Still, even though she had enjoyed it, it had troubled her for weeks afterward. Things got weird between her and Momo at that point, and then normal again soon after, like nothing had happened at all. But they had never spoken about what had happened until it was just mentioned a moment ago. She wondered how many girls had their first sexual experience with their best friend. She definitely had to be in the minority in that department. But...was that really a bad thing? _It felt incredible..._

She shook the thoughts away as Rangiku finished dressing and the girls started making their way toward the entrance. Ichigo and Ukitake-sensei sat conversing quietly in the corner, and Rukia made an effort not to look back one last time before she was out the door and into the street. As soon as they were out of the door, Momo and Rangiku began chattering excitedly. As Rukia expected, all they wanted to talk about was Ichigo.

"You know Rukia...he was looking at you an awful lot. He was definitely checking you out." Rangiku said, watching Rukia for a reaction and disappointed when she found none.

"Yeah, we didn't mention it before because teasing you is so much fun, but he was definintely creeping on you, girl. I was getting so jealous because I want you all to myself!" Momo said, wrapping her arms around Rukia and nibbling on her ear.

Rukia did her best to fend off Momo, while at the same time her mind started to race. Was he actually looking at her? Actually the more accurate term for his constant facial expression would be a "scowl" or maybe a "glare". Either way, she was surprised at this new revelation. Still...even if he had been "checking her out", there's no way a professional martial artist would want to hook up with some college student who just happened to take martial arts classes, right?

Saying goodbye to her friends, who lived in the opposite direction, Rukia made her way back home, absorbed in thoughts of her new crush. _Ichigo Kurosaki.  
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	2. A Letter

_Hey everyone! I'm finally back from Germany and just wrapped up another chapter for this story (finally!). The chapters will be coming more frequently so don't fret too much over the long pause in this story. This weekend I should have another chapter or two cooked up. I'm trying to write more and improve my skills so please let me know how this chapter is. It was a bit short if you ask me._

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><p>"Hey, you got a light? My lighter's all outta juice."<p>

Rukia saw it coming. It was late afternoon, and she had taken a break from training in the gym to get some fresh air outside. To her dismay, Ichigo-sensei had been the only other person out front. She had watched Ichigo fumble in his pocket for his lighter, and after a few failed attempts at lighting his cigarette, look around for anyone nearby who could possibly help him in this predicament. When his eyes rested on Rukia, ice seemed to encase her entire body. When he started to approach, the blood in her ears started to pound, and it took all of her might to keep her face from going beet red. Despite this...another part of her was screaming in unparalleled joy at this chance at conversation.

"Uh...no. I don't smoke." She said, trying to appear as composed as possible. The constant scowl he wore was now directed towards her, and it made her cringe inside. She made every effort not to run her eyes up and down his body. _Come on Rukia...don't be perverted...not now!_

"Hm...I see."

Ichigo looked at her for a moment longer, before turning and walking away silently. When his attention shifted elsewhere, she felt a giant load being lifted off her shoulders...and part of her wanted it back as soon as possible. That part of her was screaming at herself to say something...to say anything, to get him to turn around and continue talking with her. That way...maybe...just maybe, she could...

"Hey...your last name wouldn't happen to be...Kuchiki, would it?"

The question caught her totally off guard, and it took a moment for her to realize that Ichigo was the one asking. She had been so caught up in mustering her courage, she had totally let her guard down. Still, the question was simple, so she had no problem producing an answer.

"Uh...yeah. Yeah...that's...that's my name." Rukia said, trying to smile before realizing that would make her look nervous.

"Is it now? Then that means you'd be related to a Byakuya Kuchiki?"

Rukia was shocked. How did he know Byakuya, her brother? Her older brother inherited her family's fortune and business and had many powerful friends. But how had he and Ichigo met?

"Yeah...he's my brother...how do you..." Rukia began, but didn't get a chance to finish as Ichigo handed her a fancy envelope covered in red ribbon and adorned with the seal of the Kuchiki house. _What the...how did he get this?_

"He told me I'd run into you here, and to give you this. Don't worry, I haven't read it."

"He...told you? How do you know my brother? How did you get this?" Rukia said, thoroughly confused by this whole situation.

"I told you, Byakuya gave it to me. As far as how I know him...don't worry about it. He's an old friend. Now are you gonna read it or what?" Ichigo said, looking annoyed.

"I...yeah I'm gonna read it! Why? You want to know what's inside or something?" Rukia asked suspiciously. She looked up from the envelope in her hands to Ichigo, and their eyes met. Her heart skipped a beat as she did so. She looked back down at the envelope quickly, her face going red as a tomato.

"Byakuya...said I have to be here when you read it." Ichigo said, suddenly breaking his smooth, confident demeanor by seeming uncomfortable out of nowhere.

"I...what? You have to be here when I read it?"

"You know what...it's no big deal. Just forget about that last part. Byakuya just wanted me to deliver this letter to you. I'm sure it's no big deal if you just read it somewhere else. I gotta get going anyway." Ichigo said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Rukia said just as he began walking off. He turned and looked at her, her body heating up when his blue eyes fell on her again. "Be...before you...go...could you pl...please tell me how you know my...how you know Byakuya?" She mentally punched herself for stammering like an idiot.

She stood waiting for an answer, but he just stared at her, intense blue eyes meeting her purple ones. She steeled herself against those eyes, and for once she didn't blush and look away, though she had no idea where that strength came from. Every ounce of her being wanted to break that gaze, and she mentally had to keep herself from focusing on how handsome he was. Half a minute passed before he finally answered.

"I met him in the Army. I'd love to keep chatting, but I've got things to do. We can talk more about this later. Deuces."

He gave a small wave and started to walk off then. Rukia couldn't take her eyes off him as he passed by the shops surrounding the dojo and when he finally rounded the corner to the next street, her mind began swimming with questions. _He served with big brother in the Army? What's up with this letter, and why did brother want me to read it so he could hear it? And what's with him leaving so fast? Gah...I need more answers!_

She couldn't really remember Byakuya ever talking about his time in the Army. She remembered attending an award ceremony for him when she was very young. Her mother and father had taken her, and Byakuya had recieved some kind of military award. Then...afterwards, she remembered overhearing her mom and dad talk about how quiet her brother was ever since he had gotten back. As she got older, she never forgot what they said, and she always wondered what effect that war had on Byakuya. A part of her always wondered whether that's why he was so...cold. Or rather, much slower to show emotion than everyone around him.

Either way, she had to contact him immediately and hopefully clear up some of the details about the connection between him and Ichigo. What were the chances that her older brother and Ichigo would be acquantainces and Ichigo just happened to be assigned to the dojo where she trained? _I guess it's not too far fetched. Byakuya's just a bit older than Ichigo and they both grew up around here. Still, I don't remember ever seeing Ichigo before now._

For the moment though, she considered her short conversation with the mysterious Ichigo to be a success. Despite a little stammering, she had had her first successful conversation with him and even managed to learn a little about him. She had never had a crush on anyone like this before...and just managing to speak words to the guy left her feeling accomplished. And also confused as hell.

She still had a ton of homework to get done. Without saying goodbye to anyone in the dojo, she grabbed her gym bag and started walking in the direction of her apartment, her mind racing with possibilities. She tried her best to stay focused and think about the assignments she had to do for school, but Ichigo and the letter were the only things on her mind.


	3. A Favor

_Hey everyone, I know it's been awhile for this story, but I've been unsure as how to continue this one. Thankfully, this chapter is out of the way. I didn't really do anything special with this one, but I hope you like it. Please R&R and there will probably be cookies, more than likely. I appreciate it so much and thanks to everyone who's R&Red so far. I love your face._

_Also check out my newest story. It's a Naruto fic for my favorite couple, Minato and Kushina. Now I got three stories going at once! This is getting a bit overwhelming, haha._

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><p>It was an understatement to say the contents of this letter were quite shocking to Rukia. After reading it...she put the letter down on the kitchen table…and strongly considered curling up into a ball and just dying right there in the middle of the apartment.<p>

The letter was unmistakably written by her brother, Byakuya. His elegant handwriting filled up nearly the entire page, and she had seen his signature many times on various papers, usually pertaining to his company, in which she had shares now that she was of age. Yes…there was no doubt it was authentic.

It was the contents that made Rukia want to throw up her intestines and die in a pile of them.

_Dear sister,_

_If you are reading this, it means this has been placed in your hands by a man, an Ichigo Kurosaki. He is tall, with orange hair and he constantly wears a scowl. He is also a bit of an idiot, but you will find this out in due time._

_This letter serves one purpose. To ask a favor of you. In the past, I have done you many favors. I would go so far as to say you are indebted to me. I have given you an apartment in which to live, I have provided you with money each month for food and various other things. As you get older and become more self-reliant, I am aware this will change…but as of now you are not in a position to turn me away._

_I am indebted to Ichigo Kurosaki, as you are indebted to me. However, I owe him more than I can ever repay. In my lifetime, I intend to attempt to pay it back as best I can. He has had a hard life. As a result of this extremely hard life he has lived…Ichigo is a damaged person. He cannot live effectively in our society in his current state. This pains me, Rukia. He is my closest friend, and very important to me._

_Rukia, you are a ray of sunshine in this world. You make others smile in a way I have never understood, and you are compassionate to a fault. None of these traits are needed to run a business empire…but all of them are needed to be a good person. I believe the more time Ichigo spends around you, the more the wounds his life has left him will heal._

_Therefore, Ichigo Kurosaki is moving into your apartment, effective immediately. He should have been present for the reading of this letter, in which case, he will move in at the earliest convenience._

_Please…understand you would be doing me a great favor by helping my friend. There is no doubt much you can learn from this as well._

_Love,_

_Byakuya_

She honestly didn't know how to feel. An extremely attractive professional martial artist and war veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was going to move into her apartment…and according to her brother, she was tasked with helping his "wounds" heal. What in the hell did he expect her to do? She read over his words again carefully.

_You are a ray of sunshine in this world. You make others smile in a way that I have never understood, and you are compassionate to a fault._

Those words made her blush. She was told things similar to this by Rangiku, Momo, and various others every once in a while, but her brother rarely praised her, and usually in a roundabout manner that made her think for a moment about whether or not it was actually praise. She always knew how compassionate she was. It had held her back in life on more than one occasion. Compassion and ambition definitely didn't go together, and Rukia had been told numerous times by Byakuya that she could never take over the family business if she insisted on placing her kindness over her drive to place herself above others.

But Rukia just couldn't do it. She could never place her finger on it…never pinpoint exactly what it was….but something made her have an excruciating need to help others. She looked over at Renji, who was meters away in the living room watching television. That was just one example of her kindness getting the best of her. Renji was pleasant company…but there were times when she wondered how nice it'd be to have the entire apartment to her. Would she be lonely?

She directed her focus back to the task at hand. Ichigo Kurosaki….living…with her and Renji. A famous fighter…who happened to have psychological problems, according to her brother. And Rukia was supposed to help him?

Help him? She could barely even speak to him without her blushing like a tomato and fumbling over her words like an idiot. Still…she owed Byakuya more than she could say…and her brother held Ichigo in high regard. She had never heard him speak about someone in that way before. She figured Ichigo must have saved his life, probably more than once. It was hard to picture Byakuya as he is now in the middle of a war…but Ichigo looked like he'd fit right in with the bullets and the gunpowder. Still, she could only guess the nature of what Ichigo had done for Byakuya in those days. She would have to ask Ichigo more about it. _How am I going to approach him with this tomorrow? Will he even want to move in?_

"Renji…."

"What's up?" Renji said, craning his head around to look at Rukia from across the room.

"We're getting a new roommate."


End file.
